Jiang Youzhi looked over at Yun Jiao, full of grievances.

Yun Jiao looked back at him apologetically.

The three children quickly climbed onto the bed.

You Er lounged with his little feet up and beckoned to Yun Jiao, "Mother, come quickly."

With so many children watching, Jiang Youzhi really couldn’t bring himself to fight them for her.

He stood in the room for a while, then, sulking, went to the study next door.

When it was about the hour of Hai, Jiang Youzhi figured the children were all sound asleep, so he came out of the study and quietly slipped into the bedroom.

The maids on night duty outside were all fast asleep. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Jiang Youzhi went in and, after his eyes adjusted to the darkness, walked toward the bed.

Standing by the bed, he felt around to tell who was where: on the outermost side was Qi Er, and next to him was You Er.

You Er was pressed right up against Yun Jiao.

On Yun Jiao’s other side was Ruru.

Jiang Youzhi took off his shoes and got onto the bed, planning to move Ruru to the other end to sleep, so he could sleep in the space where Ruru had been.

He had just crawled a few steps when You Er suddenly sat up, opened his eyes, and stared at Jiang Youzhi.

Jiang Youzhi jumped in fright. Before he could even raise a hand to make a shushing gesture, he heard You Er say, "Father, you’re pressing on my foot."

Jiang Youzhi hurriedly shifted his hand to another spot and lowered his voice, "Go to sleep, don’t talk."

You Er flopped back down again.

Jiang Youzhi stopped at the foot of the bed and gave up on the idea of carrying Ruru away.

There were too many children; if any one of them woke up in the middle of the night, the fun would be over.

His hand found Yun Jiao’s foot.

Yun Jiao’s foot jerked back, and then he heard her suppressed soft laugh. "Ticklish—"

Jiang Youzhi crawled up from the foot of the bed, pressed himself over her, and whispered in her ear, "Let’s go to the study."

In the darkness, he saw Yun Jiao seem to blink at him.

Just then, You Er beside them opened his eyes again.

His two pupils glinted bright in the darkness like twin sparks of starlight, giving Jiang Youzhi quite a scare.

"Sleep!" He reached out to push You Er’s eyelids closed, then slowly and carefully crawled back down from the bed.

Yun Jiao turned over and patted You Er, speaking softly, "Go to sleep, look, your brother and your cousin are all asleep, only you are still wide awake."

You Er buried his head in his mother’s arms, closed his eyes, and drifted off contentedly.

In the study, Jiang Youzhi had waited until he was almost asleep himself when he suddenly heard the door gently click.

The door that had been left ajar was pushed open, and a slender figure slipped inside.

With a carp-like flip, Jiang Youzhi sprang up from the couch, took a few quick steps, and rushed forward to pull Yun Jiao into his arms.

Her soft, delicate body was pressed tightly against his chest. He let out a heavy breath. "Jiao Jiao, I’ve missed you to death."

Yun Jiao let out a low, sweet moan.

Jiang Youzhi scooped her up in his arms, reached back to close the study door, and laid her down on the Arhat Couch...

Yun Jiao had been sitting in a carriage all day and was already very tired. After being thoroughly ravished by Jiang Youzhi, she soon fell into a deep sleep.

Jiang Youzhi got up and went out to call for hot water. He personally cleaned her up, then held her in his arms and went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, Yun Jiao suddenly woke with a start.

She shot up to a sitting position.

Half-asleep, Jiang Youzhi sensed it. "What’s wrong?"

Yun Jiao tilted her head to listen. "This is bad, Ruru’s awake!"

She quickly got down from the couch and, not seeing where her shoes were in the dark, ran back to the bedroom barefoot.

The maid on night duty outside had also woken. She had just picked Ruru up when Yun Jiao reached out to take her, cradling Ruru in her arms and patting her.

Six-year-old Ruru was already quite heavy, and Yun Jiao really couldn’t hold her for long, so she had to sit with Ruru in her arms, leaning against the Imperial Concubine’s couch.

Ruru sobbed and hiccupped for a while before she slowly fell back asleep.